An Octopus in Antarctica: Do you recognize it?

I don’t know what to say about this creature. The expedition staff on our cruise had never seen an octopus in Antarctica. This one was in the shallow water near Port Lockroy. If you have any ideas on what species it is, please let me know.

An octopus in the swallow water of Port Lockroy. Photo courtesy of Glen Gould.

I’ve ruled out an octopus in a bunch of bananas and also the Pacific red octopus. The Southern Ocean is bounded by a convergence zone that acts as a barrier to species. Ralf has the best lead. The VenomDoc studies all species that use venom, including Antarctic octopus species, snakes, and more. He has a very extensive site. I hope he will be able to provide the species.

It’s not easy to tell from the photo, but this octopus is, at most, 2 feet long. AND very cute!

Thanks for the suggestion. I actually read about those new creatures. However, this octopus didn’t look like that, at least in person. The one I saw is deeply webbed and the new one looks to have more gangly arms. I suspect that the octopus I saw has been in Antarctica all along, but not in this area. Maybe this one showing up in a new area has to do with climate change or a predator chasing it? Of course, I’ve only been to Antarctica once. But the expedition staff have been there as much as 40 times.